Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas - the Rainforest podcast

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Peter Beaudoin manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry.

Umair Tazeem is an entrepreneur with a passion for impact through technology. Currently building Embold: An innovative platform that allows advertisers to connect with micro influencers to run highly targeted campaigns. With over 5000 influencers, advertisers can reach millions of Canadian customers and engage them with original content. Embold works with advertisers in Canada, USA and Europe to help them reach new customers in Canada. Outside of Embold, Umair spends his time staying active biking, playing basketball and tennis.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

Join Peter Beaudoin as he talks with Umair Tazeem, Founder of Embold, a Calgary based influencer marketing company. On the show we discuss how Umair built the company from 2018 to today, where they manage over 5000 influencers across Canada.

Show Quote:

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: SAIT School for Advanced Digital Technology

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Patrick Wu Patrick is a freelance graphic designer, UX designer, and marketing consultant with a background in biotechnology and life sciences commercialization. His career has taken him across a wide range of areas, from sales and marketing, government advocacy, ecosystem development, and now design. Since 2016, he has since been an active member in the Rainforest community, advocating for technology, innovation, and life sciences in Alberta.

Colton Rhyason A friendly dude who has dabbled in sustainability, recreation and the startup world. Avid traveler, beer drinker, and Limer.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

Patrick and Colton talk about Startup Calgary, how our local innovation ecosystem has been changing, his past startups, kayaking, and everything in between.

Show Quote:

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: SAIT School for Advanced Digital Technology

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Christopher Drobot is a passionate cheerleader for the potential of the Edmonton region. Although not directly an entrepreneur himself, his extensive experience in business operations and now mortgage lending help focus his excitement on the ideas that can see the city grow. He is involved in the push to bring a world-class aquarium to the city, is completing an MBA, and – together with his wife – homeschools his two children. The parallels between entrepreneurialism and homeschooling have been many, and he sees an overarching lesson in both: you have to create the world you wish to see.

Dan Belostosky Dan has made his mark in a number of industries – notably, having been a co-founder of Belonett Media (once the largest independent billboard network in Alberta), a Venture Partner with Panache Ventures, a Founder of boutique investment firm Otto Capital (which focuses on tech and real estate startups), to his current role as Founder of HonestDoor (which as a business meant to introduce radical transparency to the real estate industry is in many ways a mix of all of the above)

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

Dan tells us the "why" of Honestdoor, on how his own experiences in the industry led him to realize there's a large problem of missing data in the real estate world, and that consumers would be better-served by having easy and free access to that data without needing an intermediary to step in (such as a real estate agent, an appraiser, etc.). He goes through the process of building a business - how the challenges you end up facing are often not the ones you ever expect - and how growing in a smaller market like Alberta presents both benefits and challenges.

Show Quote:

"Ultimately I found a lot of holes in the real estate industry, and I thought that the first thing that we would try to disrupt would be data and access to data - and it seems like it’s worked and people have really responded through our site."

"There will still be a place for Realtors, but what we see is about making the process more efficient"

"What we’re proud of is the HonestDoor Price and where right now that’s changing monthly, we think it should be updated even more frequently and in real time as new translations and data come in. We think that’s what people want to know"

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: SAIT School for Advanced Digital Technology

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Rebecca Finley-Schidlowsky - Rebecca is a Management Consultant who specializes in Governance and Strategic Planning. She has worked with hundreds of Boards and Senior Management Teams in the startup, private enterprise, not-for-profit and public sectors across Canada. Rebecca has been the Board Chair and Governance Committee Chair of Next Gen Men for the past 4 years and has led the development of the organization’s Board and Committee structure from the ground up. An accomplished speaker and facilitator, Rebecca has also had the privilege of being a guest speaker for MBAs/EMBAs at The Drucker School of Management based in Claremont, California (USA). Rebecca runs a Governance Basics Blitz Workshop targeted at not-for-profits and associations that has welcomed participants from Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, California, Spain, and New Zealand. Rebecca and her colleague Jeff Homer, host workshops specifically targeted at helping startups understand governance complexities.

Dr. Jana Rieger is a global leader in functional outcomes assessment related to head and neck disorders. Over her 20-year career in this field, Jana has held roles as a professor, clinician, researcher, and now, entrepreneur. Jana raised $2.5M in grant funding between 2014 and 2019 to develop the Mobili-T: a wearable device that uses software-enabled biofeedback technology to deliver a proven method to regain swallowing function for the 500 million people globally who are suffering from a swallowing disorder because of common medical conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's Disease, or head and neck cancer. In 2017, Jana spun a company out of the University of Alberta in order to move the technology from the lab and into the hands of the people who needed it. With her leadership, the True Angle team graduated from the Creative Destruction Laboratory in 2019 – one of the most highly-regarded business accelerators in Canada, and from the MATTERHealth Accelerator in Chicago in 2020. Jana raised over $1M in funding from angel investors, and was awarded an additional $780K in grant funding for True Angle. True Angle has now entered the US market with the Mobili-T, with plans to expand globally. Over the course of her academic career, Jana started and built several world-class programs from scratch. Early in her academic career, she raised $2M to plan, set-up, and deploy an innovative health outcomes assessment program that is internationally-renowned and credited as the gold standard in the field. From that program, Jana employed her expertise in team building and brought together thought leaders from 4 different countries to participate in an innovative international research network, the Head and Neck Research Network (HNRN). As founder and first director of that network, she developed policies and procedures, databases, privacy impact assessments and ethical approvals for the group, creating a strong foundation for governance. Over the years, Jana has been recognized as excelling in thought leadership. She has functioned at a director level within the health-care system in Alberta to bring together diverse groups of clinicians, researchers, and policy-makers. In her role as CEO of True Angle, Jana now brings her skills in fund raising, innovative program development, international team building, and thought leadership to the table to commercialize a remote digital technology that has the potential to change the lives of millions of people globally.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

Rebecca interviews True Angle founder and CEO Jana Rieger to discuss important topics like what it takes to make the jump from being an academic to an entrepreneur, advice for female entrepreneurs and her thoughts on the growing Alberta startup ecosystem!

Show Quote:

"I love what Alberta is doing right now and with a coordinated effort, we could become a real powerhouse for new innovation in all sectors."

"It's important for us to have female leadership, it's to set the stage for the wheel to start spinning so that younger women can look at [entrepreneurship] as a potential option for them in their career and lives."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: SAIT School for Advanced Digital Technology

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Wunmi Adekanmbi Wunmi Adekanmbi immigrated 10 years ago from Nigeria where she was a post-secondary instructor and researcher, and led a youth empowerment non profit. Wunmi is passionate about people, information and solutions - in that order. She is a strategist and a connector. Her greatest motivation is creating coherent value streams across organizational functional units using a systems thinking approach. She strives to inspire confidence and intentionality in leadership, equip teams to execute from a big picture perspective, and harness community inter-dependencies. Wunmi is the Organizer and host of Immigrant Techies Alberta, a tech enthusiast group for skilled immigrants who are in or are interested in pivoting to tech careers and startups.

Yoyin Familusi Yoyin Familusi is a Business Strategist and Business Development Professional with over 17 years’ experience in Management Consulting, Enterprise Development and Business Planning. She has worked in corporate and nonprofit environments both locally and globally facilitating collaboration between organizations to improve success and business profitability. At Business Link, she provides leadership for the small business strategists team as they provide support to Albertan entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur herself, she thoroughly enjoys sharing her experience through facilitation bringing invaluable experience to clients and partners in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. She is a dancer and an avid reader who loves the smell of new books!

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

We discuss how Business Link is providing support for entrepreneurs and business owners at all scales and stages in Alberta. Yoyin also shares how she innovates in her personal life both as a mom and a new Canadian entrepreneur.

Show Quote:

"Innovation is process improvement. It's about continuously making things better for the end user."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: SAIT School for Advanced Digital Technology

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Al Del Degan I have been involved in software development for more than 25 years. I have started companies, lead companies and worked for companies - doing many different things. I am honored to be considered a leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem, and I give back as much, and often as I can. When I am not working or podcasting, you will find me pursuing my passions of photography, crypto investing, and wood working along with the occasional round of golf.

Naheed Shivji is a serial entrepreneur and investor. He has invested in his startup cyber security company and has a lot to offer listeners in terms of his journey and success of his IT company, Rafiki Technologies. Naheed is a member of EO Calgary (Entrepreneur’s Organization) and is continuously working with other entrepreneurs while mentoring his team. Due to racial inequality, he has overcome many obstacles and has since implemented the value of diversity within his organization. His organization contributes to diminishing racial barriers and increasing diversity in the IT community and workplace environment. With over 20 years of IT experience, Naheed has brought Rafiki Technologies to where it is today. He is a passionate entrepreneur helping companies understand and embrace technology and is always searching for business best-practices while giving back to the community. Naheed works hands-on with his clients to develop winning IT strategies and smooth implementations. He is constantly learning and adapting to industry trends to maintain Rafiki Technologies’ position as a leading managed IT services company in Canada.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

When you have been passionately dealing with technology for as long as Naheed Shivji has, you get to know it pretty well. Join us as we dive into exciting tech topics like cloud computing, cyber security, and what the future might look like.

Show Quote:

"We also saw a shift where a lot of companies where hesitant moving to the cloud"

"Education is a key piece in the cybersecurity policy"

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: SAIT School for Advanced Digital Technology

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Peter Beaudoin Peter manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry.

Alex Villeneuve Alex Villeneuve founded Ceres while attending the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management Program at Olds College in 2015. In the first day of the program, Alex saw the large amount of high-quality grain by-product left after the brewing process was simply thrown away in craft breweries. Seeing this underutilization of some of the best malt grade gain in the world, he was inspired to find an environmentally friendly alternative. In the following years, with the support of Olds College, government funding, prize money and his immediate family, Alex grew the company from the Ziploc experiments in his dorm room closet to a massively scalable system with custom processing equipment and client base.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

Please join Peter Beaudoin as he discusses the entrepreneur journey of Alex Villeneuve, CEO of Ceres Solutions. Ceres Solutions operates on a truly sustainable and circular model, supporting local breweries, chefs, food processors and ranchers.

Show Quote:

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: UFA Co-operative Limited

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Janay Meisser Janay Meisser is a leader; she is a curious observer, and she is the Director of Innovation at UFA Co-operative Limited, an Alberta-based farming cooperative that has been weaved into the fabric of Alberta for over a century. Janay is discovering technology that will enable the farm of the future, which is focused on Ag Technology that creates value for Alberta Producers. Janay is building and accelerating UFA's corporate innovation program in support of growth and diversification of industry in Alberta. UFA is quickly earning a voice in the Alberta innovation community, participating and acting as a moderator for panels of influencers during Ag innovation events.

Spencer Kerber Naturally curious. Founder at Bessie. The API connecting farmers to local eaters. We're changing how food gets from producers to plates. Before Bessie, I spent my career doing some engineering, some consulting—but always eating.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

Spencer Kerber, Founder of Bessie, the API connecting farmers to local eaters. Spencer shares his journey to entrepreneurship through his passion for food and the community and experience that surround good food. Like many Spencer did not see himself as an entrepreneur, "it just kind of happened". Spencer has always dug deep into curiosity and that led him into turning his passion for food experiences into his day job.

Show Quote:

"Empowering Producers"

"Awesome experiences for customers and suppliers"

"A lot on our plate, figuratively and literally"

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: UFA Co-operative Limited

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Wunmi Adekanmbi Wunmi Adekanmbi immigrated 10 years ago from Nigeria where she was a post-secondary instructor and researcher, and led a youth empowerment non profit. Wunmi is passionate about people, information and solutions - in that order. She is a strategist and a connector. Her greatest motivation is creating coherent value streams across organizational functional units using a systems thinking approach. She strives to inspire confidence and intentionality in leadership, equip teams to execute from a big picture perspective, and harness community inter-dependencies. Wunmi is the Organizer and host of Immigrant Techies Alberta, a tech enthusiast group for skilled immigrants who are in or are interested in pivoting to tech careers and startups.

Muhammad Ali Abid I love working with teams to create human-centred solutions for their challenging problems. Over the past 10 years, I have lived in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta and have worked as a clinician, administrator, improvement consultant and now a healthcare designer. I am never satisfied with the status quo, constantly curious, comfortable with uncertainty and embrace polarities. It is no surprise that I am passionate about creativity and bringing innovation to organizations. When I am not on the job, I am an active board member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders. I am also busy being a dad of two toddlers, spin-class, binging on podcasts and Netflix. I am also a social entrepreneur working to tackle elderly loneliness.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

Ali discusses the challenges of innovation and transformation in healthcare and how Alberta Health Services Design Lab is tackling complex healthcare problems using human-centered design. The episode also touches on health equity and how Ali's initiative, GenHelp, addresses loneliness in the elderly population.

https://JoinGenHelp.com

Show Quote:

"If you can make things better, just do it. Find a need, fill a need."

"Most of the current improvement initiatives in healthcare are incremental. There's a need for transformative innovation."

"Patients today are more informed, educated and have higher expectations. They are healthcare consumers."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: SAIT School for Advanced Digital Technology

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Rebecca Finley-Schidlowsky - Rebecca is a Management Consultant who specializes in Governance and Strategic Planning. She has worked with hundreds of Boards and Senior Management Teams in the startup, private enterprise, not-for-profit and public sectors across Canada. Rebecca has been the Board Chair and Governance Committee Chair of Next Gen Men for the past 4 years and has led the development of the organization’s Board and Committee structure from the ground up. An accomplished speaker and facilitator, Rebecca has also had the privilege of being a guest speaker for MBAs/EMBAs at The Drucker School of Management based in Claremont, California (USA). Rebecca runs a Governance Basics Blitz Workshop targeted at not-for-profits and associations that has welcomed participants from Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, California, Spain, and New Zealand. Rebecca and her colleague Jeff Homer, host workshops specifically targeted at helping startups understand governance complexities.

Daniel Delgado - Daniel joined TradeSpace as a co-founder in 2018. As Co-founder Daniel oversees product development, business strategy, marketing, finance, operations, technology and team development. Prior to co-founding TradeSpace Daniel has been part of consulting engineering firms which allowed him to achieve his professional engineering status. Daniel is also the founder of a tech-enabled engineering firm (Enginectra) that is building a two-sided marketplace for mechanical and electrical engineering services. Daniel enjoys active learning about start-ups and traveling around the world with his family.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Summary

Rebecca talks with Daniel regarding his journey from Venezuela to Canada in search of work. While in Calgary he founded two companies, one of them being TradeSpace, a first of its kind that provides a collision space for construction companies, small manufacturers and e-commerce distribution companies giving them an ecosystem that can encourage them to grow.

TradeSpace's Instagram

Show Quote:

"The definition of luck that I really like is when opportunity meets talent "

"In general, that's where immigrants play a huge role in creating a new way of doing things. Because new ways of doing things is what is going to drive the world forward."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: SAIT School for Advanced Digital Technology

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - Chase Telecom Inc.